Ojos Asi [[private -- nyrax]]

Kakashi waited in the back, waiting for proof of Temari showing up to be brought out. Sani brought her out, and Kakatshi watched as he saw the remnants of the fight that Shino had with the boy. Tsunade had been right, Shino had really taken him on and done some severe damage to him by himself. It was impressive to take on any of Youki's siblings, especially Sani, and win on your own. Kakashi would have to keep a better eye on Shino.

Once Temari was brought out, Kakashi knew that he had to bright Aaliyah out. He moved over to where she was hidden before picking her up. She was tired, as the poison was still coursing through her veins and left her exhausted. Kakashi didn't say anything as he flicked out right next to Sasuke as he still held Aaliyah in his arms.

Aaliyah's appearance seemed to immediate distress Youki, but he did a rather remarkable job hiding it. "Give her to me. I showed you Temari first."

"This isn't a game in which we're going to play nice." Sasuke said, rather aggressively. "You give us Temari."

"I could sooner kill Temari then--"

Youki stopped when Sasuke drew his sword and pressed it to Aaliyah's neck. "And I could sooner kill her. Give Temari to us first. You're the one that isn't to be trusted here."

"I refuse." Youki said, rather simply. "Give me Aaliyah first."

Sasuke had expected this to happen. Slowly, he nodded to Kakashi, sharingan active as he watched the sky not far behind them. He say one of Shino's arrows hit a target hidden in the trees. A flash of green. There were two others hidden away, ready to ambush. It seems they had just enough people for a brawl. Looking toward Shikamaru, the uchiha seemed to be giving him an opportunity to speak.

Shino watched as he made sure that Sasuke was looking at the right spot. Green symbolized a few others that were waiting in ambush. No one else was near enough to help Youki, so now it was just going to be left down to the individuals that were here. Along with that, they needed to make sure that Youki was going to be manipulated in just the right way.

"Don't be a fool Youki," Shikamaru said as he revealed himself. Now it was three on two in the clearing, already giving Konoha the advantage. "We both know that we want this hostage exchange to go off without any problems. The best thing for us to do is to make the exchange. You however have planned to kill and betray more people than any of us here....we are not here on a mission to capture you. Temari is our objective. Hand her over, and you will receive what you want," he said as he motioned to Aaliyah.

Youki didn't seem to budge in this matter. However, seeing her, he seemed partially swayed. However, he seemed to realize that the likelihood that they would return her to him was very low. So, he just looked toward his brother, who nodded.

"Very well." He pushed Temari roughly forward causing her to stumble, but move all the same. Once she made it part of the way there, a what looked like a lasso made out of lightning wrapped around her waist suddenly. Youki was holding her back. "Put Aaliyah down and let her walk to where Temari is. Then I will release her."

Sasuke nodded at Kakashi, however, just before Aaliyah reached where Youki was, Sasuke stole Youki's technique and replicated it flawlessly. "Aaliyah. You will count down from three, and when you reach it, we will release you both." Sasuke glanced to Youki. "Deal?"

Youki nodded to these terms, looking at Aaliyah as she and Temari stood side by side.

Aaliyah looked as if she'd rather not be standing. She softly cleared her throat, her voice sounding much more than just worn and fatigued. "Three. Two..." She began. "One. Now."

Youki removed the lasso a second before Sasuke did and darted forward, grabbing Aaliyah. He picked her up into his arms, close to his chest, cradling her as if she was the essence of his world.

"Well this could get ugly fast," Suigetsu muttered to himself as he kept watch from the shadows. He was supposed to be there in case things got violent, but there wasn't much he could do if Youki used that lightning to cut Temari perfectly in half. At least Sasuke had done the same thing to Aaliyah. Course, the only difference was that Konoha wouldn't kill Aaliyah under any circumstance.

Kakashi kept watch as the lightning lasso was wrapped around Temari. Sasuke took it upon himself to put Aaliyah in the same trap, thus giving both men reason to be honest with this trade. Just as Youki ran forward to grab Aaliyah, so did Kakashi move to get Temari. The moment that his arms wrapped around her he quickly came back to Sasuke's side. "Got ya," he said as he looked down at the sand girl. She looked relatively unharmed from what he could see.

"Too easy," Suigetsu said quietly to himself. There was no way that Youki was just going to let it go at this. Something else must be planned, he wouldn't accept the kidnapping of Aaliyah so easily. Youki would want blood. Like Suigetsu, he was a warrior.

Youki smirked as Kakashi took hold of Temari. He handed Aaliyah to Sani, who subsequently vanished. He used a teleporation jutsu to move a good distance away from the battle. "I've drugged Temari with a slow acting poison that will kill her if you don't return her to me." He said, showing up the vile that he had injected her with to wake her.

Sasuke waved a hand and Ino came out of the trees. She checked Temari's body quickly before nodding. However, the Uchiha smirked. "Then I'll trade you for the antidote to the poison that we've injected into Aaliyah. her chakra network has been completely shut down. If your sister were to find a way to cure the poison within the hour she has remaining before it kills her, she will never again be a shinobi."

Suigetsu just gave a nod as he continued to watch the actions of everyone move about. It seemed like his suspicion had been right. Youki had no intention of just letting this go, it was always about pain and revenge with him. Suigetsu held a hand to his sword, knowing that he'd have to move in quickly in case Youki really tried to make an attack on anyone. They may be at a draw, but Youki could still do a great amount of damage in a short time.

"Problem isn't it?" Shikamaru asked with a smile as he looked towards Youki. "If you wait, Temari and Aaliyah will die. Trade us an antidote though and we'll make sure that you get the one that you need, just like before," Shikamaru stated as he crossed his arms. "So, you wanna take the chance that we're bluffing? Or are you going to play nice and make the trade?"

Youki eyed Sasuke suspiciously and then turned to face the opening in the trees where Sani had fled. Sani slowly returned with Aaliyah in his arms and Youki picked her up once more. He whispered to her and she seemed to reply to him. he moved a hand over her face and saw the scar that cut through her soft skin, which seemed t anger him more; as if it shattered the illusion it created of her.

Slowly, however, he nodded, giving Aaliyah back to Sani and turned to face them.

Before Youki could speak, Sasuke spoke first. "No. You give us the antidote first. We gave our hostage, you give your antidote. And there better be enough of the antidote to counteract the poison."

"Your wife would know." Youki suddenly shot, irritated with Sasuke. it seemed that even he noticed that Ino was here and Sakura was not, despite the fact that Sakura was both a superior doctor and poison specialist.

Suigetsu kept a watch from a distance. Things were starting to get heated now, and he could tell that Youki was not the kind of a man that liked to be pushed back in to corners. He was like a tiger, who only became more and more dangerous as it became threatened. Suigetsu wanted to make his presence known, but he had specific instructions. He wasn't to come forward unless Youki tried to start any sort of a fight. If the man tried to make something happen, he would find that Suigetsu's blade was more in his way than any one else.

"Don't play games with this Youki," Shikamaru stated as they all stood still. The tension was thick in the room and no one wanted anything to go wrong. "Just give us the antidote and you'll receive the one for Aaliyah."

Youki put his hand into the jacket he was wearing and pulled out a vile. he threw it over and

Sasuke took it out, looking over it. He put a syringe inside of it and drew a decent dose. However, instead of instead of injecting Temari, he injected it into himself. There was a pause and he formed a hand sign. His heart started to beat faster, using his chakra to do so.

Youki glared at the younger shinobi, mostly because he had been outsmarted and he was starting to grow impatient. This was not what he had signed up for and he didn't enjoy being wrong.

After about five minutes, Sasuke handed the antidote over to Ino, who drew some into another syringe and injected it into Temari. Almost immediately, the color in her face started to improve.

"Well?" Youki growled, angrily. "Where is it?"

Sasuke nodded toward Kakashi, showing that he wanted him to take Temari to the tunnel they'd created that went back to the village.

Youki took a step forward, but Sasuke raised his arm, therefore stopping Youki from moving forward any further. From the position he was in, Sasuke's back was facing where Shino was, and there was no way he would turn his back to Youki, not when they ere that close. Shino would have to fire at his back.

Shino stood by, watching as the exchange took place. As much as he wanted Temari to be okay, he actually wanted to make sure that Aaliyah got her antidote. Even if Temari died, Shino would do anything to make sure that this poison did not kill Aaliyah. It was a selfish thought, but humans always have selfish thoughts about their loved ones. It's why Shino would die to save her, because as least she would live even if he never did any more good for anyone else.

It was only when Sasuke gave him the signal that Shino slowly drew the arrow and prepared to fire it. "Hope you and I are thinking the same thing," Shino muttered as he aimed at the back of Sasuke's heart. They had trained this out differently, but the mission required them to adjust. Without further hesitation, Shino let go of the string of his bow and fired the arrow at Sasuke's back.

The Uchiha couldn't see the arrow as clearly as he would have liked, considering the distance between himself and Shino, but he spun around and grabbed the arrow with ease as it came toward him. Truthfully, Sasuke was relieved that he didn't screw it up and end up hurting himself. He pulled the vile off the arrow and tossed it to Youki as Kakashi picked up Temari and vanished. Kakashi was a good shinobi to have to protect a hostage, or, in this case, former hostage.

But this went far too well, and Sasuke doubted that Youki would just leave considering they poisoned her.

Youki injected Aaliyah with the drug himself and held her in his arms once she opened her eyes. he seemed swayed considerably and once she was in her arms, he glared at the others. "This isn't the end of this." He vanished with his own jutsu and Sani followed after him.

Shino gave a sigh of relief as Youki left along with Sani and Aaliyah. It worked, everything went according to plan and no one had even drawn blood. It still seemed strange though, and Shino couldn't help but feel like the hairs on the back of his neck. Something still wasn't right, he could just feel it. "Can you sense anything Karin?" Shino asked in a soft voice.

Shikamaru looked over towards Sasuke. They were the only two out in the open now, and Temari had been taken back to Konoha already. "I think that we should get out of here. I don't know about you....but this was too easy."

Sasuke scanned the area and didn't see anything, but with Youki that didn't mean much. "I think that he didn't plan for us to poison her. Konoha is usually weak, so he expected for us to come to him, grovelling for Temari back in order to make Suna happy. But that's not the type of shinobi I am. I think that if anyone else would have lead the exchange, he would have tried something. But Youki and I have fought before. He wouldn't take on both myself and Kakashi. He's not that foolish."

Karin shook her head. "They're all fleeing, rather rapidly."

However, the Uchiha added, "I'm sure that once Aaliyah is better and he knows that she'll live, he'll come to act out his vengeance. He will foolishly risk his own life, but not hers."

"Good," Suigetsu said as he suddenly flickered in right by Shikamaru and Suigetsu. "Now than, if everything went according to plan I still suggest that we get the hell out of here," Suigetsu said as he kept looking around the area. "Karin says that they're all fleeing, but I still don't consider us safe until we are back in the gates of Konoha," he stated before motioning for Suigetsu and Shikamaru to leave ahead of him. He would make sure that they weren't followed.

"Sounds like a plan," Shikamaru said as he looked towards Sasuke. "Good work Sasuke," he said simply before turning and heading back to Konoha.

Shino reached under his glasses and rubbed his eyes, making sure that Karin didn't see anything as they went. "Karin you go ahead with Sasuke and Shikamaru, I'll be right behind you." he said as he secured his bow and quiver on him once again.

Karin nodded and jumped down and headed to where Suigetsu was. She jumped down out of the trees beside Suigetsu and Shikamaru as they made their way through the trees back toward Konoha. "That went much better than I expected." She said, agreeing with the two of them that it was almost too easy.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder, and rather than following the others, he went to find Shino. He appeared behind Shino, silently, and leaned against the trunk of the tree. "Sakura made the poison specifically to hinder her chakra production. It wouldn't have killed her. If they run tests, there are enzymes that will make it seem deadly, but she'd have lived regardless." He felt the need to explain this now, rather than later. Her exhaustion was acheived by ANBU interrogating her, in case Youki tried to look into her mind. She hadn't slept since she went to ANBU.

Shino slowly glanced over at Sasuke as he appeared behind them. He was still breathing heavily before pushing himself off of the tree that he was leaning against. "With all due respect, and I'm sure that you have some masterful act of deception as to why you did this.....but is there some reason that you didn't feel that I should be informed about that?" Shino asked as he looked towards the Uchiha. "I would have performed just as well if not better had I known."

Sasuke bit his lip. "I... didn't want to tell you. One, because I just assumed that someone could overhear us, and you just agreed to join up with the mission overnight. I thought focusing on your training was more important. And, I was kind of afraid that it wouldn't work the way we planned it working. Poison is completely ineffective against me, so I knew that I would live, regardless. Sakura had to double the strength of the poison for me to even feel any effects of it at all. And each person is different, so I had to make sure that it would work the way we theoretically thought it would."

"Next time don't make that assumption," Shino said as he looked directly at Sasuke. "You're doing what you can to help and I appreciate it," Shino said as he kept his gaze and voice steady. "But you know that I'm tired of this game, despite the fact that I have to keep playing. Her life is in danger as it is. You should have found a way to tell me.....you owe me that much after all I've tried to do in restoring your name to this village," he said quietly.

The Aburame shook his head. "I'm sorry, you're doing what you believe is best, but I would tell you immediately if I had any information about Sakura that you would want to know....I just ask that you extend to me the same courtesy."

Sasuke nodded. "I wanted to, but Sakura warned me not to." he said, making it clear that he wanted to tell him, but that he wasn't really supposed to. In terms of Shino and Sakura, Sasuke feared the one he was married to far more, especially because she was pregnant. "I don't want this to seem like a half assed excuse, Shino, but we needed to make sure that she'd be okay before we told anyone. When we injected her, almost an hour after we told Youki she did, she noticed that it drained her chakra much faster than it should have. Sakura was worried that meant she'd get hit with the poison harder, but that wasn't the case."

Sasuke rested a hand on Shino's shoulder. "Come on. Let's head back to the village."

"With all due respect, you didn't tell you wife that you were betraying the entirety of the village in order to come up with a fake plan that would allow us to expose Youki's spies and make her thing that the man she had married had once again gone completely insane," Shino said in all of one sentence as he kept his gaze steady with Sasuke. "In all honestly it's better that we just forget it," Shino said as he shook his head. "I'm just angry, whether it's your fault or not I'm still not happy with what I'm being put through....and other than Youki I have no one to be mad at."

"Let's just go home."

Well Sasuke felt kinda like shit now. Maybe it would have been better if he just didn't say anything at all. But, he knew that would have been far crueler. "Come on." He said, jumping down from the tree with Shino and heading back to the village. He felt bad, but he knew there was really nothing he could do. He kidnapped Aaliyah, got them a way to save Temari, and let Shino see her again. All in all, it was worth it, even if it didn't seem that way for Shino now.

Sasuke knew, however, that Aaliyah's mission was winding down. There was a very little chance that Youki would resist this battle much longer. He would soon lose, or Aaliyah would be exposed. Either way, the Uchiha had the feeling they didn't have long to wait.

Shino walked alongside Sasuke, knowing that he hadn't meant to do any harm. Still, he was just tired of everyone trying to protect and help him. All he wanted was Aaliyah back, and he wasn't going to be completely happy until she was safe in Konoha and this mission was over. They kept defeating Youki, but there was no telling how much longer this was going to last. He had been a fugitive for fifteen years, what was to stop him from going another fifteen more?

"So what are you going to do now?" Shino asked as they walked back.

"Well..." He said, not truly sure on his answer. "I want to kill him, honestly. This is almost the desire I had to kill Itachi. Despite all their differences though, I feel that Youki is a bigger threat because he keeps hitting Konoha close to home. at least Itachi keeps his distance." It was too much for Sasuke to say that Itachi's crimes weren't as bad, since he had killed only Uchiha and had left the remainder of the village untouched. "But, other than that, I suppose I could do whatever you asked me to. I know that you don't want me to crowd you and constantly ask, 'are you okay?' because it'll just piss you off. But I'm here for you, if you need it. Okay?"

"I don't necessarily want you to do anything," Shino said as they walked back to Konoha. "Just treat me how you'd want to be treated if Sakura was in the same position. As I said before, if I knew something I'm certain you'd want me to tell you," Shino pointed out as they kept walking. "I know that even if she dies I'll still live and function....but I don't want that to be my reality. I love her, and I know that all of you can see that. If you hear anything about her, good or bad, just please tell me," he said in a soft voice.

"Other than that, there is nothing that I can ask of you that you haven't already given."